


Coffee With Cream

by Moonrose91



Series: The Coffee of Life [2]
Category: The Avengers (2012), White Collar
Genre: F/M, Hugs, I am so bad with names, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Old Friendships, Other, Past Suicidal Thoughts, Some Fluff, that was a spoiler but mehk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-08
Updated: 2012-08-08
Packaged: 2017-11-11 17:05:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/480849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonrose91/pseuds/Moonrose91
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter hated it when the other agencies decided to step in on one of his cases. Especially SHIELD. He just didn't expect Neal to be happy about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coffee With Cream

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Timeline](https://archiveofourown.org/works/344033) by [Chaerring](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaerring/pseuds/Chaerring). 



Neal looked up as Peter stormed out of his office, looking for all the world like he was going to start shooting people.

If Peter had such intentions, however, Neal is pretty sure he would have already been shot a few times. “What’s wrong?” Neal asked calmly from where he was overlooking his case files, going to be giving advice or even outright solving them.

Peter let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “You know how sometimes other agents from various other departments decide to stick their nose into our department?” he asked.

Neal stared at him before answering, “Yes.”

“This is worse. SHIELD has decided to get involved. The last time they did, they let the guy get away,” Peter explained and let out an exhale like an irritated rhino.

Neal watched him. “Peter, I am starting to get concerned about your blood pressure. Calm down. Maybe they’re just bringing insight into the case that we could use,” Neal stated, even as his eyes slid over to the door where a man in an ill-fitting suit (and who stood out because Neal is a master of reading people and he _screams_ ‘dangerous man, don’t look too close’ at him) followed by…

By a girl who is about twenty-four. Scratch that, he _knows_ , she’s 24. Knows that she lived her formative years with a con-family, has played in con games more times than Neal wishes to think about.

Knows all of this because he had targeted her father in a con when she was fifteen, during a low point in her life, when she was being bullied and tormented, but refused to let her father be the victim of a con again.

Because he had grown to care about the quirky girl and stopped her from pulling the trigger, from leaving her father alone and talked sense into her. Kept that from ever happening again, still wrote her.

She yelled at him for getting caught.

He hadn’t known she was in New York, mostly because the emailed, but he was a little hurt that she hadn’t told him. Of course, they had not done so for years (plausible deniability for her and because she didn’t move around anymore).

He is out of his seat and crossing the room as he calls, “Darcy!”

Her eyes instantly fix on him, her arm in a sling, and she _squeals_. “Neal!”

She is faster than him, but he catches her in a protective hug, curling over her almost as he wraps his arms around her, careful of the ribs when he feels her slight flinch, and cautious of the arm trapped between them, since she isn’t. Her had scrunches up the jacket at the small of his back and he rubs her back gently.

Too long since he last saw her, in his opinion, and he hesitantly pulls back, though they don’t fully break contact.

He hates to admit that he got attached, quickly, to her during the month he had stayed with her. “You should have told me you were in New York. I would have invited you to my penthouse,” Neal stated.

“You have a penthouse with $700 a month?” she retorted with a grin and Neal just smiles back.

She pulls a face. “Ugh, don’t give me that con smile,” she said.

He runs his thumb over her cheek gently. “Sorry,” he answered.

Darcy just smiles back and someone clears their throat. They look up, but don’t leap apart. “Oh, Phil, sorry. This is Neal Caffery. Of course, when he introduced himself to my father when I was fifteen, he was Samuel Neilson. He stayed with Dad and I for about a month after I told him straight out that I wouldn’t allow him to con my father and if he tried I’d throw him to the wolves after slathering him in bacon grease,” Darcy introduced, only then stepping away from him. Neal immediately slung his arm over her shoulders and carefully pulled her back.

Peter was staring at them like he almost didn’t want to know and Neal smiles at him warmly. “She did. I stayed because she fascinated me,” Neal reassured.

“You wanted me for your partner. In three years’ time. He was going to put me under his wing and everything. I heavily beat him out of the idea. But he stayed for a month anyway because Dad invited him to stay. Neal lied and said he was a cousin and found out through his mother about us. Maternal aunt, so it was easy to do,” Darcy corrected and Neal gave a shrug.

He noticed she wasn’t mentioning what happened during that month.

At all.

The thing that made their bond ironclad isn’t being mentioned.

Neal is pretty fine with that.

“Hi, I’m Peter Burke,” Peter greeted.

“Darcy Lewis. Call me ‘Miss Lewis’ and I’ll be really upset. Neal forgets he hasn’t introduced us yet because he tells me everything,” Darcy stated and Phil let out a low sigh.

“If we could please get to the debriefing?” he questioned.

“Of course, Phil,” she answered brightly and moved out, Neal letting her now. She moved to skip and Phil gently placed a hand on the back of her neck.

“Don’t. Skip. I am _not_ explaining that to medical again,” he answered and she whined, but followed like a normal person.

“Everything Neal?” Peter hissed as he followed after Phil.

“We both grew up in lies, Peter. What else can I do?” Neal asked, giving Peter a ‘con smile’ before following after.

He sits next to Darcy and Phil finds an excuse to talk to Peter so Darcy can perch on his desk and stare at his files. Her finger points to a picture. “He’s a mercenary,” she states and the whole office goes quiet.

“Oh, that’s why I don’t know who he is. How did you know?” Neal answered.

“He’s the only uncle that wasn’t in the family business. He saved my life in Latevaria when I got ditched. How’d he get onto your radar?” she asked.

Neal ignored the ‘ditched’ part (he already hated her mother, and he wasn’t adding to that pile; it was a waste of energy) looking at the case file. “He was seen at the scene of an art heist,” he stated.

She moved the pictures around, interested. “The paintings were all Norse mythology paintings,” she stated.

“Yeah. With focus on Loki,” he answered.

Darcy began to play with one of the pictures. “You won’t find them again. However, this explains why Thor was all sad-faced the other day. Clint is going to be pissed,” she stated.

She ignores how Jones is edging closer to the desk at all the names she’s dropping. Neal, however, sighs. “Of course you’re working with the Avengers,” he muttered.

“Living with. And dating someone. Who also lives there and works for Tony. Tony is awesome. He’s my favorite,” Darcy answered, pointedly ignoring how Jones is practically at Neal’s desk now.

“Who stole them?” Neal asked.

“I know who _has them_ ,” she corrected.

Neal raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

“Loki. He loves himself. It would be adorable, if he wasn’t so destructive,” Darcy answered.

“The guy who ripped up most of New York (“That was the Chitari who physically did that,” she corrected) stole paintings?” Jones asked.

“He _has them_. He probably hired people to do it and replace them with fakes. He did it very human. He probably doesn’t want anyone to know he’s here. Well, that or my boyfriend is right and Doom has a very unhealthy attraction to Loki. However, he wouldn’t work for Doom willingly. He’s very family oriented and Latevaria should just be called ‘Doom’s Land’. It would be more accurate,” Dary corrected, glaring at Jones before she focuses back on the case file.

“Darcy, when did Jarvis discover this?” Phil asked, there.

She gave a shrug. “When he got internet in his castle. About a week ago. He wasn’t sure. Said he would look into it. He’s probably watching all of this and wondering who Neal is and if he should be jealous or not of all the touching. He’ll probably stalk this office for about a week before satisfying himself and then focus his attention on ex-boyfriends,” Darcy answered calmly.

“You are taking that far too well,” Phil said, even when Jones jumped while Neal twitched his head to the side.

“He was like that before we dated. Please. My date from hell, when it got to the lowest point the fire alarms and sprinkler system went off. I knew, even if I didn’t really _know_. And stop looking at me like that Neal,” she answered.

Her fingers flicked over the picture of the uncle. “We could have used the knowledge of an uncle mercenary,” Phil stated.

“I never saw him again,” Darcy responded with a one-armed shrug.

Phil muttered something about postcards and she grinned before slipping off the desk. “Behave Neal?” she questioned.

“Always,” Neal answered, grinning at her.

She made a face and turned to Phil. “Let me guess. Office and yelling?” she asked.

“No yelling. You just get to correct your own file,” Phil answered and they left.

Neal smiled a bit at their retreating backs. It was good to see Darcy was happy. He would probably never get told how she got injured. “I didn’t get to ask her if she could get me the autographs of the Avengers,” Jones stated and Neal gave him a pitying look.

“I’ll probably have them by the end of the week,” Neal stated.

Jones glared at him before going back to his own desk.

Today was a good day.

He also knew that Darcy would be visiting him soon.

Good thing, since his anklet didn’t reach as far as the Avengers’ Tower.

He wondered if her favorite meal was still fettuccini and meatballs.

He'd have to ask, once she emailed him about meeting times.

"She caught you in a con and you didn't bug out?" Peter asked and Neal looked up.

"I was already entrenched in it. I had really sold it to her father. I couldn't cut loose and run," Neal answered.

It would have raised questions he didn't want asked and Peter knew that. "You going to give her boyfriend the shovel talk?" Peter asked.

"No. He already knows what I'll do to him if he ever harms her, if he's as good as she says he is. And Darcy only exagerates when she's trying to distract," Neal answered.

Peter let it go then and Neal just smiled at his case files.

Yes, today was a good day.

**Author's Note:**

> In my head, for this verse, Neal is 11 years older then Darcy.


End file.
